Russian River Cruise on M/S "Volga Dream" (Platinum)

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Itinerary:

VOLGA DREAM CRUISE IS A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE FOR A DISCRIMINATING TRAVELER.

M/S Volga Dream is a boutique, luxury, family owned and operated riverboat. Intimate ship with only 100 passengers onboard is like a private club where all members share spacious open decks, inviting restaurants, bars, and other social spaces and pampered by a personalized attention of the crew members, selected and trained by the ship owner. Unlike other riverboats offering only onboard accommodations and moored on the outskirts of both cities, Volga Dream provides 5* centrally located hotels before and after the cruise in Moscow and St. Petersburg. It allows you to make the best of your free time: explore famous landmarks, attend evening performances and enjoy best restaurants. Thoughtfully decorated cabins and staterooms come with en suite bathrooms with separate shower, a/c, minibar, safe, satellite TV, access to hi-speed satellite Wi-Fi and many other facilities. Gourmet dining experience rivals the best restaurants and offers the best samples of Russian and European cuisine, prepared with love and expert attention of highly skilled chefs, complete with unlimited wine, soft drinks, freshly baked bread. Each day is a unique opportunity to explore the grandeur of two capitals: Moscow and St. Petersburg and enchanting Russian countryside with its small fairy tale-like towns and villages. Shore excursions are led by professional expert guides and conducted in small groups with personalized attention to every group member. The size of the group is 25 people in Gold Program and 15 in the Platinum program. The ship ensures a fascinating opportunity to enrich your knowledge of Russian culture by offering cooking demonstrations, Russian language lessons, documentary films, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov piano concerts, matryoshka painting classes, Russian costumed dinner with vodka tasting and many other activities. Volga Dream PLATINUM caters to discerning travelers who prefer to travel privately or in an intimate group. This journey includes accommodation in the finest 5-star hotels in Moscow and St. Petersburg and extensive touring of the most breathtaking sites in small groups.

Welcome to Russian river cruise onboard luxurious Volga Dream! You will be met at the airport and transfered to the deluxe hotel St. Regis Moscow Hotel Nikolskaya***** located in the historic city centre close to the Kremlin and Bolshoi Theatre. In the evening you will meet your guide who will wait for you in hotel lobby from 6pm to 9pm. Spend your day resting or exploring central Moscow on your own.

Day 2
:
MOSCOW

Kremlin / Armory / Diamond Fund / Red Square / 9:30am - 5:30pm Morning tour of Kremlin with a visit to the Armoury Museum where you will view the marvelous collection of coronation finery, hand-forged armour and weapons, royal carriages and sleighs, and dazzling Faberge eggs. The famous gems inlcuding Catherine the Great’s diamond-encrusted coronation crown and the 190-carat Orlov Diamond can be viewed in the Diamond Fund. Proceed to Kremlin Square with famous cathedrals.

After lunch walk around the Red Square and visit GUM - Moscow’s largest department store. The rest of the day is at leisure to explore Moscow on your own or attend a cultural performance. (B, L)

Day 3
:
MOSCOW

City Tour / Novodevichy Cemetery / Museum of Cosmonautics / 10:00am - 5:00pmAfter breakfast enjoy an orientation city tour of Moscow followed by a visit to a famous Novodevichy Cemetery where prominent Russian cultural and political figures were laid to rest, among them Russian writers, musicians, playwrights, and poets, as well as famous actors, political leaders, and scientists.

After lunch, visit a famous Museum of Cosmonautics and learn about Yury Gagarin’s first flight in the space and proceed to an outdoor Exhibition of Achievements of the People's Economy – a truly remarkable footprint of Soviet Architecture and design.

Spend the day cruising through forested countryside, disembark in the ancient trading town of Uglich, part of Russia’s renowned Golden Ring. Visit the impressive Church of St. Dmitri-on-the-Blood, erected on the site where Dmitri, son of Ivan the Terrible, was murdered in 1591, and attend an enchanting concert of choral music at St. John’s Church. Volga Dream Experience: Documentary Film “Construction of the Moscow Canal” ( B, L, D)

Day 6
:
YAROSLAVL

Our next stop is Yaroslavl, one of the oldest cities in central Russia and the Volga’s first port, founded in 1010. In the Spassky Monastery see the Transfiguration of the Savior and admire the mosaics at the Church of Elijah the Prophet. Take part in a costumed reception at the governor’s house, and then re-board the MS Volga Dream in time for lunch. Volga Dream Experience: Costumed Russian Tea Ceremony & Russian Cooking Class (B, L, D)

Day 7
:
GORITSY

In the tiny settlement of Goritsy, visit the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, founded in 1397, and now home to one of the best collections of Russian icons in the world. After a guided tour, continue cruising toward majestic Lake Onega. Volga Dream Experience: Russian Dinner with Vodka Tasting (B, L, D)

Day 8
:
KIZHI

The Kareliya region, which spans the area from St. Petersburg to the Arctic Circle, is a vast wilderness of forest and water. Discover Lake Onega, fed by 58 rivers and home to 1,369 islands, including Kizhi. See a collection of ancient Russian wooden houses and windmills, and the famous Transfiguration church, built in 1714 without a single nail. Volga Dream Experience: Piano Concert – pieces by Tchaikovsky and Rakhmaninov. (B, L, D)

Day 9
:
SVIR RIVER AND THE VILLAGE OF MANDROGI

While cruising along the 139-mile-long Svir River, appreciate the quiet understated beauty of a region that has long inspired artists and poets. The ship passes quaint riverside hamlets before reaching Lake Ladoga. Step ashore for a brief visit to the vacation village of Mandrogi to experience daily life in a quaint wooden village on your own. Volga Dream Experience: Barbeque on the Open deck. (B, L, D)

Day 10
:
ST. PETERSBURG

City Tour / Faberge Museum / 9:30am – 5:30pmArrive in St. Petersburg via the Neva River and disembark MS Volga Dream. Enjoy a city tour of St. Petersburg and after lunch visit Faberge museum which contains world's largest collection of works by Carl Faberge, including 9 Easter eggs commissioned by the Russian royal family. After the tour, check-in to the deluxe Grand Hotel Europe.

State Hermitage (early entrance) / Peterhof: Park and Bath Cottage / 8:30am – 6:30pmThis morning enter the famed Hermitage Museum before hours to avoid heavy crowds. After lunch travel to the meticulously restored Peterhof, St. Petersburg’s most famous and spectacular Imperial estate, often cited as the Versailles of Russia. Visit the authentic Bath Cottage and stroll in the vast Lower Park with 176 fountains of various forms and styles and four cascades, majestic palaces and numerous gilded statues of ancient gods and heroes. Return to St. Petersburg by hydrofoil. (B, L)

Day 12
:
ST. PETERSBURG

Catherine’s Palace / Amber Room / Russia in Miniature Museum / Canal boat/ 9:30am – 7:30pmThis morning travel to Catherine the Great–s Palace, which houses the extraordinary Amber Room, its six tons of solid amber deftly carved and framed in gold leaf. Once deemed the –eighth wonder of the world,– the room was stripped by the Nazis in 1941, but majestically reconstructed in honour of St. Petersburg–s 300th birthday.

After lunch in Podvorie, a restaurant in a traditional Russian log house, on the way back to St. Petersburg visit a –Russia in Miniature– Interactive Museum. Done with a great care and attention to detail, this very realistic model of Russia will give you a great picture of this vast country full of stereotypes, generalizations and main attractions of every region.

In the evening, board a small river boat for a sail around the numerous rivers and canals of St. Petersburg. (B, L)

Day 13
:
ST. PETERSBURG

This morning check out from your hotel and transfer to the airport for your flight. (B)

4 fascinating lectures by Russian professors about Russian history and politics

Diverse range of cultural activities aboard MS Volga Dream

Hotels:

St. Regis Moscow Hotel Nikolskaya*****

Grand Hotel Europe*****

We had a nice holiday on the Volga river with a nice boat Volga Dream. It was a very beautiful time with lots of experience and fun.
We were so impressed with the vessel itself, the food and the service. The crew were friendly, smiling, accommodating and efficient.
All activities were well planned. Guided excursions were interesting with knowledgeable guides. We were impressed by the possibility to attend concerts every night performed by opera stars, a pianist, and an accordionist. The time on this cruise went very fast and we were sorry when it came to the end.
Cruises on the Volga Dream can only be recommended very highly.
Natali, Luxembourg

I would like to share my impressions of the amazing river cruise we had . It was from Moscow to St. Petersburg visiting Yaroslavl, Goritsy, Kinzhi and a lovely village of Mondrigor.
We had exceptional service from East West Tours and their Russian partners from the time we contacted them, until the end of the cruise. We returned home last week and are still talking about the unforgettable time we had on our trip to Russia. All this trip was service-oriented, with the fantastic choice of hotels, fabulous activities on the boat, interesting day trips to cities and villages which gave us tons of first-hand knowledge of the Russian people and their life. During the entire trip, we felt very safe. People around us were very friendly and smiling, which we didn't expect, to be honest.
We very much enjoyed the tours in Moscow with lovely guide Kristina, especially the ones of the Kremlin , GUM, St. Basil's, and the Subway , which is unbelievably magnificent- kind of museum. I wish we could have spent a few more days in Moscow.
St. Petersburg was more than magnificent. We visited the Hermitage Museum, Peterhof, the many wonderfully decorated Russian Orthodox Churches . The Grand Hotel Europe***** had fantastic service. We decided to return to this city next year as it needs at least a week to be explored.
We highly recommend this tour if you want to explore Russia in all its splendor.
Jessie, Florence, Alabama, USA

Volga Dream Cruise,
We just came back from a cruise from St. Petersburg to Moscow with the "Volga Dream".
The journey started from St. Petersburg. A very impressive city with lots to see in the city and also we were taken to Pushkinovo and Imperial palaces and also Peterhof. All our group liked the palaces very much. I didn't believe they were so breathtaking.
Accomodation was on a ship, far from the city center, but no problem as city buses take you to the end of Nevski prospect or to the metro station. Bus and metro tickets are very cheap.
The cruise strated in the evening of the fourth day and cruise took us 5 days. We thought it could be boring, but the activities on board were numerous and the time was flying very fast. The weather was good and we enjoyed small green islands or cities on the way : Yaroslavl, Goritsy, Mandrogi, Kizhi, Uglich. The sun was shining, so we spent a lot of time on the decks, enjoying beautiful landscapes. The time spent on the ship was nice and relaxing with musicians playing and singing live. Probably students, but very professional. The cabin was not as good as we had expected. It was nice and clean but too small. Toilet and shower also very small. The food was very good - a lot of vegetables like beets and cabbages. Souvenirs on board too expensive but we bought a few nice items in St. Petersburg and in Yaroslavl, so we didn't bother about the prices on board.
To explore Moscow we had only a day and a half. Definitely too short time to see all the marvelous things in this splendid city. We decided to come to Moscow separately. I will definitely book a trip to Moscow through East West Tours - Nordic Saga, as they proved to be very sensitive to all our needs and expectations preparing for this trip.
All in all, the trip was very good. We are very happy to have taken it. Many thanks to Dora from Nordic Saga , who was very helpful in all matters and gave us many valuable tips about this journey.

4 fascinating lectures by Russian professors about Russian history and politics

Diverse range of cultural activities aboard MS Volga Dream

Itinerary:

VOLGA DREAM CRUISE IS A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE FOR A DISCRIMINATING TRAVELER.

M/S Volga Dream is a boutique, luxury, family owned and operated riverboat. Intimate ship with only 100 passengers onboard is like a private club where all members share spacious open decks, inviting restaurants, bars, and other social spaces and pampered by a personalized attention of the crew members, selected and trained by the ship owner. Unlike other riverboats offering only onboard accommodations and moored on the outskirts of both cities, Volga Dream provides 5* centrally located hotels before and after the cruise in Moscow and St. Petersburg. It allows you to make the best of your free time: explore famous landmarks, attend evening performances and enjoy best restaurants. Thoughtfully decorated cabins and staterooms come with en suite bathrooms with separate shower, a/c, minibar, safe, satellite TV, access to hi-speed satellite Wi-Fi and many other facilities. Gourmet dining experience rivals the best restaurants and offers the best samples of Russian and European cuisine, prepared with love and expert attention of highly skilled chefs, complete with unlimited wine, soft drinks, freshly baked bread. Each day is a unique opportunity to explore the grandeur of two capitals: Moscow and St. Petersburg and enchanting Russian countryside with its small fairy tale-like towns and villages. Shore excursions are led by professional expert guides and conducted in small groups with personalized attention to every group member. The size of the group is 25 people in Gold Program and 15 in the Platinum program. The ship ensures a fascinating opportunity to enrich your knowledge of Russian culture by offering cooking demonstrations, Russian language lessons, documentary films, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov piano concerts, matryoshka painting classes, Russian costumed dinner with vodka tasting and many other activities. Volga Dream PLATINUM caters to discerning travelers who prefer to travel privately or in an intimate group. This journey includes accommodation in the finest 5-star hotels in Moscow and St. Petersburg and extensive touring of the most breathtaking sites in small groups.

Welcome to Russian river cruise onboard luxurious Volga Dream! You will be met at the airport and transfered to the deluxe hotel St. Regis Moscow Hotel Nikolskaya***** located in the historic city centre close to the Kremlin and Bolshoi Theatre. In the evening you will meet your guide who will wait for you in hotel lobby from 6pm to 9pm. Spend your day resting or exploring central Moscow on your own.

Day 2
:
MOSCOW

Kremlin / Armory / Diamond Fund / Red Square / 9:30am - 5:30pm Morning tour of Kremlin with a visit to the Armoury Museum where you will view the marvelous collection of coronation finery, hand-forged armour and weapons, royal carriages and sleighs, and dazzling Faberge eggs. The famous gems inlcuding Catherine the Great’s diamond-encrusted coronation crown and the 190-carat Orlov Diamond can be viewed in the Diamond Fund. Proceed to Kremlin Square with famous cathedrals.

After lunch walk around the Red Square and visit GUM - Moscow’s largest department store. The rest of the day is at leisure to explore Moscow on your own or attend a cultural performance. (B, L)

Day 3
:
MOSCOW

City Tour / Novodevichy Cemetery / Museum of Cosmonautics / 10:00am - 5:00pmAfter breakfast enjoy an orientation city tour of Moscow followed by a visit to a famous Novodevichy Cemetery where prominent Russian cultural and political figures were laid to rest, among them Russian writers, musicians, playwrights, and poets, as well as famous actors, political leaders, and scientists.

After lunch, visit a famous Museum of Cosmonautics and learn about Yury Gagarin’s first flight in the space and proceed to an outdoor Exhibition of Achievements of the People's Economy – a truly remarkable footprint of Soviet Architecture and design.

Spend the day cruising through forested countryside, disembark in the ancient trading town of Uglich, part of Russia’s renowned Golden Ring. Visit the impressive Church of St. Dmitri-on-the-Blood, erected on the site where Dmitri, son of Ivan the Terrible, was murdered in 1591, and attend an enchanting concert of choral music at St. John’s Church. Volga Dream Experience: Documentary Film “Construction of the Moscow Canal” ( B, L, D)

Day 6
:
YAROSLAVL

Our next stop is Yaroslavl, one of the oldest cities in central Russia and the Volga’s first port, founded in 1010. In the Spassky Monastery see the Transfiguration of the Savior and admire the mosaics at the Church of Elijah the Prophet. Take part in a costumed reception at the governor’s house, and then re-board the MS Volga Dream in time for lunch. Volga Dream Experience: Costumed Russian Tea Ceremony & Russian Cooking Class (B, L, D)

Day 7
:
GORITSY

In the tiny settlement of Goritsy, visit the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, founded in 1397, and now home to one of the best collections of Russian icons in the world. After a guided tour, continue cruising toward majestic Lake Onega. Volga Dream Experience: Russian Dinner with Vodka Tasting (B, L, D)

Day 8
:
KIZHI

The Kareliya region, which spans the area from St. Petersburg to the Arctic Circle, is a vast wilderness of forest and water. Discover Lake Onega, fed by 58 rivers and home to 1,369 islands, including Kizhi. See a collection of ancient Russian wooden houses and windmills, and the famous Transfiguration church, built in 1714 without a single nail. Volga Dream Experience: Piano Concert – pieces by Tchaikovsky and Rakhmaninov. (B, L, D)

Day 9
:
SVIR RIVER AND THE VILLAGE OF MANDROGI

While cruising along the 139-mile-long Svir River, appreciate the quiet understated beauty of a region that has long inspired artists and poets. The ship passes quaint riverside hamlets before reaching Lake Ladoga. Step ashore for a brief visit to the vacation village of Mandrogi to experience daily life in a quaint wooden village on your own. Volga Dream Experience: Barbeque on the Open deck. (B, L, D)

Day 10
:
ST. PETERSBURG

City Tour / Faberge Museum / 9:30am – 5:30pmArrive in St. Petersburg via the Neva River and disembark MS Volga Dream. Enjoy a city tour of St. Petersburg and after lunch visit Faberge museum which contains world's largest collection of works by Carl Faberge, including 9 Easter eggs commissioned by the Russian royal family. After the tour, check-in to the deluxe Grand Hotel Europe.

State Hermitage (early entrance) / Peterhof: Park and Bath Cottage / 8:30am – 6:30pmThis morning enter the famed Hermitage Museum before hours to avoid heavy crowds. After lunch travel to the meticulously restored Peterhof, St. Petersburg’s most famous and spectacular Imperial estate, often cited as the Versailles of Russia. Visit the authentic Bath Cottage and stroll in the vast Lower Park with 176 fountains of various forms and styles and four cascades, majestic palaces and numerous gilded statues of ancient gods and heroes. Return to St. Petersburg by hydrofoil. (B, L)

Day 12
:
ST. PETERSBURG

Catherine’s Palace / Amber Room / Russia in Miniature Museum / Canal boat/ 9:30am – 7:30pmThis morning travel to Catherine the Great–s Palace, which houses the extraordinary Amber Room, its six tons of solid amber deftly carved and framed in gold leaf. Once deemed the –eighth wonder of the world,– the room was stripped by the Nazis in 1941, but majestically reconstructed in honour of St. Petersburg–s 300th birthday.

After lunch in Podvorie, a restaurant in a traditional Russian log house, on the way back to St. Petersburg visit a –Russia in Miniature– Interactive Museum. Done with a great care and attention to detail, this very realistic model of Russia will give you a great picture of this vast country full of stereotypes, generalizations and main attractions of every region.

In the evening, board a small river boat for a sail around the numerous rivers and canals of St. Petersburg. (B, L)

Day 13
:
ST. PETERSBURG

This morning check out from your hotel and transfer to the airport for your flight. (B)

Testimonials:

We had a nice holiday on the Volga river with a nice boat Volga Dream. It was a very beautiful time with lots of experience and fun.
We were so impressed with the vessel itself, the food and the service. The crew were friendly, smiling, accommodating and efficient.
All activities were well planned. Guided excursions were interesting with knowledgeable guides. We were impressed by the possibility to attend concerts every night performed by opera stars, a pianist, and an accordionist. The time on this cruise went very fast and we were sorry when it came to the end.
Cruises on the Volga Dream can only be recommended very highly.
Natali, Luxembourg

I would like to share my impressions of the amazing river cruise we had . It was from Moscow to St. Petersburg visiting Yaroslavl, Goritsy, Kinzhi and a lovely village of Mondrigor.
We had exceptional service from East West Tours and their Russian partners from the time we contacted them, until the end of the cruise. We returned home last week and are still talking about the unforgettable time we had on our trip to Russia. All this trip was service-oriented, with the fantastic choice of hotels, fabulous activities on the boat, interesting day trips to cities and villages which gave us tons of first-hand knowledge of the Russian people and their life. During the entire trip, we felt very safe. People around us were very friendly and smiling, which we didn't expect, to be honest.
We very much enjoyed the tours in Moscow with lovely guide Kristina, especially the ones of the Kremlin , GUM, St. Basil's, and the Subway , which is unbelievably magnificent- kind of museum. I wish we could have spent a few more days in Moscow.
St. Petersburg was more than magnificent. We visited the Hermitage Museum, Peterhof, the many wonderfully decorated Russian Orthodox Churches . The Grand Hotel Europe***** had fantastic service. We decided to return to this city next year as it needs at least a week to be explored.
We highly recommend this tour if you want to explore Russia in all its splendor.
Jessie, Florence, Alabama, USA

Volga Dream Cruise,
We just came back from a cruise from St. Petersburg to Moscow with the "Volga Dream".
The journey started from St. Petersburg. A very impressive city with lots to see in the city and also we were taken to Pushkinovo and Imperial palaces and also Peterhof. All our group liked the palaces very much. I didn't believe they were so breathtaking.
Accomodation was on a ship, far from the city center, but no problem as city buses take you to the end of Nevski prospect or to the metro station. Bus and metro tickets are very cheap.
The cruise strated in the evening of the fourth day and cruise took us 5 days. We thought it could be boring, but the activities on board were numerous and the time was flying very fast. The weather was good and we enjoyed small green islands or cities on the way : Yaroslavl, Goritsy, Mandrogi, Kizhi, Uglich. The sun was shining, so we spent a lot of time on the decks, enjoying beautiful landscapes. The time spent on the ship was nice and relaxing with musicians playing and singing live. Probably students, but very professional. The cabin was not as good as we had expected. It was nice and clean but too small. Toilet and shower also very small. The food was very good - a lot of vegetables like beets and cabbages. Souvenirs on board too expensive but we bought a few nice items in St. Petersburg and in Yaroslavl, so we didn't bother about the prices on board.
To explore Moscow we had only a day and a half. Definitely too short time to see all the marvelous things in this splendid city. We decided to come to Moscow separately. I will definitely book a trip to Moscow through East West Tours - Nordic Saga, as they proved to be very sensitive to all our needs and expectations preparing for this trip.
All in all, the trip was very good. We are very happy to have taken it. Many thanks to Dora from Nordic Saga , who was very helpful in all matters and gave us many valuable tips about this journey.